Junior Amari Daniels; 36 carries, 200 yards (5.6 YPC) in 2022

Sophomore Le'Veon Moss; 27 carries, 114 yards (4.2 YPC), 1 TD in 2022

Redshirt senior Earnest Crownover; 2 carries, 2 yards in 2022

Devon Achane; 196 carries, 1,102 yards (5.6 YPC), 8 TD in 2022

The start of a three-player competition to replace Achane. Daniels, Moss and Owens will all get their chance to replace the explosive Achane, who should be a pretty early pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

If you had to choose a pre-spring leader, it would likely be Daniels. After being largely overlooked and seeming like a transfer prospect at mid-season, he came on strong down the stretch to lead the team in rushing against Auburn and picked up 39 yards on just 4 carries against LSU. Even though he's only 5-foot-8, he's stout at 200 pounds and has plenty of explosiveness. He's patiently waited his turn (and waited out higher-ranked LJ Johnson), and this may be his moment.

Moss, on the other hand, out-performed Daniels in fall practice and the early season to pick up playing time against Mississippi State and Florida. He also led the team in rushing against UMass, but struggled against Auburn. A strong straight-line runner, Moss seemed to have some troubles when there wasn't a hole immediately open -- which happens to a lot of true freshmen.

Owens may be the newcomer, but he's anything but a dark horse candidate. After running for nearly 7,100 yards and 101 touchdowns in three seasons at El Campo, he was the nation's top running back recruit for 2023. He enrolled at the midterm and has shown surprising explosiveness, making the situation all the more interesting.

Crownover will continue to serve as the team's fullback and a reliable reserve.

Unlikely. But new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino could well find that he has three very capable backs, all of whom can stake a claim to the starting job, and look for ways to make sure all of them get on the field.